A diamond in the rough
by PotentiallyHarmful
Summary: Set many sweeps into the future, Eridan is in the military and is still searching for someone very special to him. A black market auction leads him to find the one person that's been missing for such a long time... and he is NOT happy.


As he left the meeting, Eridan sighs a little as he walks down the street. It was such a long meeting. The damn fools were trying to cut military funding because of the lack of wars. It's good that wars are coming to a halt, but he knows that the second they don't have money to buy resources, someone will attack and his military won't be able to do anything about it. Eridan did however agree to four sweeps of half the funding they would normally get. But after that it must go up unless they start seeing a shift in the attitudes of possible opponents.

On the sea dwellers walk, a shorter olive blooded troll approaches Eridan without fear and smiles.

"Well good afternoon sir! I hope I'm not bothering you at all."

"Wwhat do ya want?" Eridan wasn't exactly in the mood to deal with pests... All he wanted to do was get back to his hive and deal with paperwork, calls to other military leaders, and catching some z's.

"Well sir I have a paper for you advertising a... an auction." The slight grin on his face makes Eridan cringe inside.

"I am not interested."

"They're selling some jade bloods." Now this sparked some interest.

"Is that so. Who is 'they' and how did they get a hold of jade bloods?"

"Oh it's not my place at all to say who the sellers are or where they obtained the jade's, I'm only the messanger." The troll hands Eridan an ugly flier for the event. There is no picture, only the upside down backwards alternian language that many in this age has long forgotten. But of course he can read it. It was being held that night and they had ten jade blooded trolls to sell. This was the black market for sure... But being a man of his status, it isn't uncommon for higher ranked military officials to occasionally dip their ringed fingers into the black pit of illegal contraband. And it certainly wouldn't be Eridan's first time either.

"I see. Be gone with you now." Eridan shoos the troll away and then continues to walk down the dirt streets, lower blooded trolls staying clear of him, but not entirely fearing him as he is rather well known as a fairly kind troll to the lower castes.

Eridan was nervous, twisting a ring around his middle finger thinking about jade bloods. It's been a few sweeps since anyone has seen Kanaya... or each other really. All he could think about was what he would do if he saw their very own Kanaya in the line up... It makes his stomach catch fire with anger even imagining it.

The night comes and Eridan looks at himself in the mirror, to make himself look as terrifying as possible. He wonders if Dualscar dressed with the spikes around his neck and shoulders to look like the drones... That scares the crap out of EVERYONE. He doesn't wear as many rings and he is always sure to take his earrings out so no foolish idiot will attempt to rip them from his sensitive pointy iconic sea dweller ears. It's happened before and he culled that troll faster than he could take half a breath of excitement at getting his grubby fingers anywhere near gold.

The event was to start in an hour, and Eridan would certainly not be late. He goes to the door of his hive and steps into his boots, zipping them up the middle and putting them over his pant legs.

The streets are dark, as curfew was half an hour ago. All is quiet as he steps towards the ever darkening path of blackness towards an underground- bump!

"ah!" A small voice comes. Eridan looks down and sees a child rubbing his cheek, then looking up at him with the widest more terrified eyes he's ever seen. Good.

"Wwhat the- heck are you doin' out after curfeww?" It took a second for Eridan to think of a word that wouldn't be bad around the children. Darn you Feferi, making him watch his language.

The child can hardly speak and doesn't even move.

"I say child I asked you a question. Stand up." An order. The child starts to cry quietly and stands up.

"I'm s-sorry sir! I got lost! My lusus... the streets were really busy today! Please, I just..." The boy is only barely brave enough to look up into the purple eyes. The boys own eyes were still black since he was not yet old enough to have any sort of indication of blood color.

"You'vve lost your wway then."

"Yes sir! Please, I-I just..."

"Did you steal anything?"

"WHAT? No sir! Never ever!" It made a small warmth in Eridan's chest to see such a terrified child at his feet.~ It's even better when a foe looks at him with such terror, but he supposes he'll be nice.

"Wwhat does your lusus look like." The boys eyes become even wider and he starts to cry louder.

"Please don't cull him i-it isn't his fault!"

"Stop your crying, it's irritating. Wwhat does it look like."

"She's a bug eater sir..."

"So you're a red blood then. This wway." Eridan begins to walk the other way, his spiked cape flowing behind him. The child does as he's told and follows him.

"Sir... you won't... cull us will you?"

"No. Wwhen I wwas a wriggler I wwould run awway from my lusus."

"R-Really?... Can I ask why?..."

"He irritated me and I didn't wwant to go home. Curfeww didn't really affect us sea dwwellers as much as it does land dwwellers. So I could stay out as late as I wwanted."

"I wish I could do that..."

"Does your lusus not take care of you?"

"N-No she does! I just... I want to play outside longer."

"You should be grateful. If you had been hatched fivve sweeps ago I wwould have culled you wwithout a second thought. Do ya understand?"

"Yes sir..."

"Do not wwander from your lusus. The next time I see you out here I'll throww you into the sea and let the sharks eat you."

"Yes sir!" Eridan chuckles a little. He would never. He just wanted to make sure the child understands the severity of his situation.

"Here. This is your area. Listen. If you do ever happen to lose your wway or your lusus again, just get the hell home and you wwill be wwith your lusus. Do you understand?" The boy gasps a little.

"I do understand!" From the hive that belongs to the boy comes a small nose. The giant anteater lucus is laying right at the front door waiting worriedly for her child to come back...

"Sameh!" The boy runs as fast as he can past Eridan, catching the Lusus' attention. Samah stands up instantly and runs out a little and wraps her nose around the boy and he hugs her. The Lusus looks over at Eridan who is already walking away as if he'd never seen it and she ushers the child inside.

Eridan just smiles a little as he goes. It's disgusting, but he feels rather good doing something so nice.

"Fuck." He starts to run all the way back to where he was, and somehow gets back to the place and shuffles inside. The place is lit up actually fairly well to show off whatever they're showcasing. He's offered a card with a number on it and he's directed to one of the seats further up front. An auctioneer steps out onto the front of the stage and smiles. A rust blood. How disappointing.

"Heeey everyone, ready to see the lot?" Several people woop in excitement, but Eridan and most others keep their composure and just nod. It's unlike him, but he's actually very nervous. Because when this is all over he's gonna shut this place down so fast their heads will spin.

The lights dim, but stay the same on stage as the auctioneer goes to the side door and starts grabbing and pushing some trolls out onto the stage. All of them are jade blood. This is illegal as hell! Where did he get all of them? There is no way... how... It makes Eridan's blood boil to see this disgusting act.

"Alright everyone we got ten jades for you ta take home! Startin' bid on this one, ten hundred!" It's a male, about five foot five, short horns and he just looks down. His clothes are not at all fitting even for a jade blood. It makes Eridan sick... Pinned to his shirt is a paper with a number and his symbol. People start lifting their signs and the auctioneer starts calling out numbers. But when Eridan raises his sign everyone stops bidding immediately.

"Alright! This one goes to number 875! Nice work!" He goes to the next one, a woman with long hair and about the same outfit as the male.

"Startin' at 500!" THESE PEOPLE ARE LUCKY ERIDAN HAS GAINED SELF CONTROL OVER THE YEARS. He raises his sign again and no one dares bid against him.

"Again 875! Thanks!" This goes on five more times until the 8th troll.

"This one! Startin' at 100,000! Fun fact, she's a rainbow drinker!" The whole place gasps a little including Eridan... No...

Kanaya stands on the sage, ugly rags draping over her, her Virgo symbol and her own number. 4612.

"Anyone? Anyone? come ooooon!" Another purple blood just barely lower than Eridan raises his paper. And by now Eridan has run out of gold rings, and he took out his earrings. FUCK.

"Whoa, 875, nothin'? Dang! Once!... Twice! You god it 349! Nice deal!" Eridan makes a quick glance to the motherfucker who just bought his friend. The most arrogant guy he's ever met. He's about as tall as Eridan and his horns curl back, forward and then up into points, and he's dress in disgraceful dress, just to hide from others. How dare he.

Eridan can only afford one more and the other man buys the last one, the event ending two hours later. The jade bloods have rope tied around their wrists and they don't even look up at Eridan, sadness in their eyes... He wants to reassure them THIS SECOND that all will be fine, but he has to keep his image up first. Not only that, but as he walks out with others, he watches where the other man goes with Kanaya and the other troll. And by Gog he knows exactly where they're going.

"Let's go evveryone." He walks in front of the line of eight trolls and leads them back to his hive. Closing the door behind him, he immediately unties the ropes on all of them and tosses it to the ground.

"Are you all alright? Howw the fuck did... Wwho took you?" The first troll looks at him in slight shock, finally looking up into his face.

"Mr. Ampora!... We... That rust blood broke into our homes and took us by surprise."

"Yes, one by one he dragged us by our hair and tied us up," a woman says. The others explain a little of their own stories and Eridan grits his sharp teeth.

"Wwell don't wworry. These papers say I owwn you, but that's fuckin' bullshit, you guys understand me? This shit ended twwenty swweeps ago and is... No, I can't. Listen. I wwant you all to make yourself comfortable in this room only if ya don't mind, and I've got a bone to pick wwith the other motherfucker."

"He took the other two..." one lady says.

"Are you really going to liberate us all?"

"Fuck yeah I am! This is so disgusting I can only barely keep my food dowwn! No one sells other trolls, especially wwhen I'm on land. I havve to go. Go wwash your hands and feet and then wwait for me in here."

"Mr. Ampora... Thank you so much." The first man with small horns looks up at him with green thankful eyes, a few others crying from relief.

"Of course." Eridan nods to them and then goes to his room, grabs his gun and walks back to the door. The jade bloods scoot out of his way, still wary of a sea dweller with a god damn giant blue gun... But hardly any further thought needs to happen before Eridan pushes up his glasses and closes the door behind him, nearly stomping in the dirt.

On the other side of the city, the man only known for now as 349 walks into his hive with Kanaya and the other female troll.

"Well well ladies, welcome to the cage." He sneers at the girls. But Kanaya is defiant, her skin turning white and glowing.

"You Do Not Own Us. This Is Against The Law, And When We Get Out, Your Head—" 349's giant clawed hand backhands Kanaya right in the face hard enough to knock her and the other troll over, still tied with rope.

"You WON'T get out. You WON'T tell anyone, and you WILL do as I tell you too, you disgusting grub sitters." He reaches down and grabs Kanaya by the arm and yanks her to her feet violently.

"Ugly little whore, it is YOUR head that will be cut if anyone finds you out of that fucking cave, you hear me?" He drags her by the ropes around her wrist, dragging the other woman behind them. And by drag I do literally mean dragging them across the floor on their rears and sides, unable to stand up.

He brings them to a room where he seems to have kept many slaves before them. This is apparently because there are many lower castes still sitting in there, chained to the wall. About five in the room... Three of them look like they're close to death.

"Huh. Rotting away so soon? Disappointing. A piss blood is supposed to last at least longer than that!" He drags the girls in and slams the door, accidentally catching the girls foot in it.

"Bitch! Out of the way!" he kicks her far enough in the stomach that it moves her several inches, now able to close the door. She gasps for air and cries at the pain. Kanaya puts her arms around her and holds her close, glowing so brightly that the other trolls casts thick shadows against the wall.

"As for you you and you, pray that whatever fictional god you have will take you." He gets out his weapon of choice, a sai and stabs the first one in the head so hard the tip of the sai sticks into the wall. The others scream and start to cry in fear. Kanaya's eyes only go wide and she screams at him.

"STOP IT! STOP IT YOU MONSTER!" She screams at him, bearing her fangs in anger. 349 turns around to her and grabs her tightly around her throat.

"What did I tell you you bitch? Do I have to sew your god damn mouth shut? Here, let's do something about it now." He puts his hand over her mouth tight enough that she can't bite him and he takes his other sai and aims it at her stomach. She takes a breath, ready to take it since she can't do anything else.

A blue and white blast hits 349's hand knocking the sai from his hand. He looks over to the window along with the others. Eridan Ampora is standing on the sill, broken glass from the window just hitting the ground. He kicks the whole fucking window in, glass going everywhere. Landing inside he looks directly at the man and aims his gun right at his throat, forcing him to back up into the other side of the rooms wall.

"And just wwhat the FUCK do ya think, YER doin'?"

"Ampora?!"

"You sick creature."

"What do you want?! You can't have my girls if that's what the problem is! You got the others, so I get the rainbow girl!"

"I don't think you understand exactlly wwhat's happenin' here." Eridan puts on his most sly of grins and talks smoothly.

"I'll cut you a deal. I'll take the rainboww girl and I wwon't tell anyone. Howw's that sound?"

"What? All this over the girl? No!" He swings at Eridan with his fist, but he easily catches it and stomps on 349's foot, a knife in Eridan's shoe heel. 349 cries out in agony, and then louder when it's twisted.

"I don't think... that you heard me. I am. Taking. The girl."

"Fine! Fine! Take her!" He holds his hands up in surrender and Eridan takes his heel from 349's foot and the gun from his throat. Eridan turns and helps up Kanaya and the other girl, undoing their ropes. Kanaya looks up at Eridan in utter shock.

"Eridan... Eridan... It's You."

"Yeah." Kanaya's eyes can't help but fill with green tears as she hugs him. The other girl hugs him too, just happy to be with someone who will take her from this crazy monster...

"I'm gonna take ya home, got it?"

"Yes..."

"Hey! You only said the rainbow girl!"

"Oh yeah I did. Wwell you knoww me. I'm sort of a liar." He lifts his gun and shoots him right in the bulge. The room is filled with his screams and his blood. Letting go of Kanaya and the other girl, Eridan goes over to the man on the floor and looks down at him.

"Huh. Didn't I see you do this to that one?" Eridan takes the sai he knocked from 349's hand earlier and stabs him in the neck. Gurgled noises come from him as he flails about.

"Oh shit, looks like I missed. Wwell maybe you remember this one then." He swings his foot as hard as he can into 349's stomach, moving him so far that it rips his throat away from the sai that is firmly stuck into the ground, more purple blood pooling onto the floor.

"Yeah? I bet you remember that one. Hm. Wwhat else." Eridan looks back at the other lower bloods still chained to the walls.

"Hmmm. Wwhat abouuut, this?" He stomps on the man's stomach once, then again and then again. One stomp for each dying troll. The most disturbing noises gurgle and rip from the man's open bleeding throat.

"Music to my fishy ears. I wwon't kill ya this second. I wwanna wwait and see the life drain from your bloating body and then cull you myself." It's silence aside from the noises of the dying man, and the sniffles from Kanaya and some other trolls. Eridan turns and looks at Kanaya again. She smiles and her pale black lips wobble from holding back her happy sobs. Eridan just smiles back, then goes to the chained trolls and breaks them easily with his angry grip. The trolls rub their wrists legs and necks and then look up at him.

"I can't do anymore for ya. You'll all havve to go back to wwhere ya came from. Tell anyone and evveryone you knoww about this sick fuck. And tell them who the fuck killed him. Tell 'em exactly how it wwent, got it?" He walks back to 349, who is nearly dead from suffocation now and can only look up at the now blurring silhouette of Eridan Ampora.

"Wwell. I bet you regret all that huh?" He chuckles down at the man and then bends over, taking any and all gold from his fingers and ripping the earrings from his ears. Any pain inflicted on this man is well worth the nightmares the man will have while he rots.

"If you get to an afterlife, I wwant you ta remember exactly wwhat you did, and wwhat happened wwhen ya did it." Eridan finally points his gun to the man's head and pulls the trigger, the white and blue electricity so powerful 349's head is completely incinerated, only blood and a black hole in the wooden floor remains.

"There. Noww. Get outta here." The trolls nod and jumps out that window on the grass and run so fast their thin legs nearly break along the way. The two jade bloods and the dead yellow blood are the only ones who remain.

"Eridan You..."

"I found ya Kan... Fucking christ." He drops his gun and hugs her as close as he possibly can. She hugs back, much shorter than him now after all these sweeps.

Eridan picks her up and then picks up the other girl as well, one in each arm, both holding to him around his neck, and he walks out of the door, giving no shits about the dead sea dweller on the floor.

They return to his hive and walk in the door, the other jade bloods looking over excitedly.

"He got them! He got them out!" They stand and rush over doting over Kanaya and the other girl.

All Eridan can do is smile and think

"I found Kanaya. I found her. She's finally back..."


End file.
